The Weasel and The Snake
by Joldemort
Summary: Rose Weasley spots Scorpius Malfoy on the train to Hogwarts and they establish an immediate rivalry. But over the course of time, what will their rivalry turn into? Please read. I spent a lot of time on this one as well. :P
1. Chapter 1

Rose laughed uneasily as her father teasingly chastised her, "Don't get too friendly with him, though Rosie. Grandad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pure-blood."

She felt confused, what did Dad mean? She stared at the boy across the platform, his eyes stormy grey, seemed to be filled with boredom and irritation, as he waited impatiently to board the train.  
His gaze caught hers, observing her interestedly. She did not break away, apprising him in the same notion. She didn't FEEL anything for this boy. How could Dad say..? She shrugged. He was a Malfoy, family history taught her they were nothing but ungrateful, snobbish, and rude. She felt a pride in what she learned over the summer, she had almost memorized her textbooks, as her mother proudly pointed out. She was determined to beat this boy, whoever he was.

The train's shrill whistle startled them all, as Al grabbed hand enthusiastically, and tugged on it, bringing her into the train. Hermione's eyes were full of tears, overjoyed in seeing her own children head to her old school.

"Oh dear, do be careful," she said, wiping her tears as Harry nodded knowingly at Albus, supposedly reassuring him about something they had discussed.

Ron grinned at her, "Try to make the Quidditch team, Rosie, beat the record like Uncle Harry." Rose nodded solemnly, as Ron came up to her and muttered, "Seriously, kick that kid's arse, we owe those Malfoys."

Rose giggled and nodded, giving him thumbs up. Hermione looked at them quizzically, her eyes narrowing.  
"S'nothing, Mum. Don't worry, I'll be careful, and I'll greet Uncle Neville too."  
The train started moving and the parents started walking with the train, now tears seeping out of all of their eyes. Hugo and Lily rolled theirs, their arms crossed, sour at not leaving. Ginny patted them and whispered in their ears, something that cheered them up.

As the train's speed increased, their parent's bodies became less and less distinguishable, until they hit a turn and disappeared.

Albus nodded at her, gesturing toward the outside of compartments, trying to find empty seats.


	2. Chapter 2 The First Move

Rose was excited, all other thoughts of the Malfoy family extinguished with a desire to meet new people, learn new spells, and all things associated with Hogwarts. She also felt a small desire to meet Uncle Neville again. It was stupid and weird, but she always had a crush on him. He was very kind to them, ever since they were children. And recently, she noticed how good-looking he was. And the light that shone in his eyes whenever he relived the days of their school years.

She was brought out of her thoughts, when Albus tapped her on the shoulder,  
"I think I found a compartment," he grinned.

She smiled and opened the glass door, looking at the students occupying it. There was a girl about their age, looking at them and waving and there was boy huddled up in the corner, staring at the passing scene outside, his platinum blonde hair giving away his name even before you could see his face.

"Excuse me? Can we sit here? All other seats are full," Rose asked timidly.

The girl smiled and said, "Of course, of course!" She moved aside, making ample space for Rose, as Scorpius glanced their way and nodded for a second, turning back to the scenery.  
Rose smiled in relief and plopped next to the girl, as Albus took his seat beside Scorpius, looking at him curiously, obviously holding no grudge.

The girl extended her hand, "I'm Abbie Thomas."

Rose took her hand and replied, "I'm Rose Weasley, this is my cousin, Albus Potter," she gestured to Albus, who waved good-naturedly, chomping on a chocolate frog.

Abbie was a very bubbly girl it seemed, she made up most of the conversation, with Rose and Albus commenting occasionally, Scorpius glancing at them once or twice.  
Abbie finally stopped for a breath and continued, "And, oh my god! I heard all about our herbology teacher, Professor Longbottom! I saw him waving to my dad today, he's so adorable! He's got the biggest, cutest brown eyes!"  
Abbie squeaked.  
Rose frowned, "Well...um..he's our uncle, we know him really well. He's more than good-looking. He participated in the second battle of Hogwarts, cut off a dirty great snake's head!" Rose nodded and added, "I'm really close to him too."

"Wow, Weasley, it seems like you fancy a teacher! Looks like Thomas here has competition." Scorpius seemed to come out of his hiding place, now gained a sense of snobbiness, a thing to pick on.

Abbie looked confused and Rose snapped back at him, "Shut up! Don't be stupid!"

Scorpius smirked at her and muttered audibly, "I thought you had smarts, Weasley."  
Albus muffled a light snort, and looked at Rose apologetically.

Rose shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter, Al. Everyone laughs at stupid people."  
Scorpius looked at her in mutiny, about to retort, but suddenly a great bellow came from outside, Hagrid was calling the first years.  
Scorpius muttered something under his breath and walked out first, head held high. Abbie followed, still scrutinizing Rose.  
Rose sighed, this year would have it's highs and lows, and it seems like she had just hit her first low.


	3. Chapter 3 A Sorting to Remember

Rose took Albus's hand as they waited for their names to be called for the sorting. Albus seemed pale, but not as distraught as he was on the platform. Uncle Harry seemed to have said something that made him less jittery. As "Corner, Daniel" was sorted, Rose looked back at the tables. The Gryffindor table was filled with many students, most of them rowdy and excited. The Ravenclaw table shared their enthusiasm, but were a bit more reserved. The Hufflepuffs seemed like a generally pleasant group, simply peaceful and happy. The Slytherins, at the end of the Hall, were like the Gryffindors, in rowdiness, but they were the opposites of the Hufflepuffs, a surly, sour bunch.

She contemplated about where she'd like to go, like she had done for the past months. Ravenclaw would be good, Gryffindor was the preference, since everyone in the family was one, Hufflepuffs were fine in her opinion, and as well as her family's. Uncle Harry told her about a boy he knew from Hufflepuff, Cedric something. He was a brave, true, and kind student. It was one of the first times she ever saw tears in his eyes. Slytherin would be the last choice. She supposed it wouldn't be TOO bad, but not her favorite.

"Malfoy, Scorpius," was called, and Rose watch with narrowed eyes as Scorpius strutted up the steps and sat on the stool. The hat let out a sigh and yelled, "SLYTHERIN!" Rose rolled her eyes as Scorpius smirked and handed the hat back, sauntering over to the green-clad group. Rose stood in anticipation as she waited for them to be summoned.

She squeezed Al's hand one last time as Uncle Neville called "Potter, Albus Severus," to the front. All the students fell into a quiet as they heard his name. 'Potter?' 'Harry POTTER'S kid?' 'He's the youngest one, right?' Whispers followed the quiet immediately.

Albus trembled slightly as he put the hat on his head gingerly. The hat let out a dry chuckle, "A another Potter? Oh..this one is different from the others..I know where you belong...SLYTHERIN!"

The Hall was totally quiet, amazed and confused. A Potter in SLYTHERIN? Rose was flabbergasted as well, but applauded her startled cousin as he stumbled down the steps, everyone watching him. He quietly walked to the table, greeted by tentative Slytherins, shaking his hand and greeting him.

Rose nodded at him, he'd be fine, he was a survivor. She focused back on the Sorting Hat. Her palms started sweating furiously, and she felt a heat in her fingertips, where would she go? What would happen?

Finally, "Weasley, Rose," was called up. Rose took a deep breath and stumbled up to the stool, where Uncle Neville gave her a reassuring smile, which she returned with a blush. She hoped it would just come off as nervousness. But these thoughts were cast out as the Sorting Hat was placed on her head. She heard whispers inside her mind, strange, strange whispers.

"Ahh...I see courage...a willful mind...a kind personality...contempt, maybe bias as well... Where should I put you?"  
Suddenly the Sorting Hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"

Rose sighed in relief and ran to the table where her cousins sat. She gave a sad smile to Al as she spotted him across the Hall. It was too bad....At least he'd have Scorpius for company. SCORPIUS...Rose snorted in irritation, maybe that wasn't such a good idea.


	4. Chapter 4 Surprise

Rose hurried to her first class, Transfiguration, which they had with the Slytherins. Rose was happy and not so happy about this. She'd see Al, but she'd also see Scorpius. Something about him irked her to a breaking point. Oh well, she'd show him what she was MADE of. Transfiguration was one of her favorite subjects.

She saw Al waiting around nervously in the Transfiguration room. She grinned and ran up to him.  
"Hey Al! How's...um, Slytherin?" she asked.

Albus smiled in relief when he saw his cousin, "Hey! Umm, they're ok, I guess. Some of them are actually decent, but Professor Goyle doesn't seem to like me very much."

She shrugged, "Well, at least some people are being okay with you. You excited? I know I am."

Albus nodded earnestly, "Yup! I was actually waiting for Scorpius, we were going to compare..." he trailed off when he saw the look on Rose's face.

Albus nudged her and said, "Come ON, Rose, he's not THAT bad. He's pretty nice to me."

Rose frowned at him, "But he's a MALFOY, Al. Dad and Uncle Harry TOLD us about them."

He grimaced, "Well...maybe Scorpius isn't like his dad. He's actually kinda smart, sort of like you, Rose."

Rose's expression darkened, "Really?"

Albus chewed on his lip, regretting the words that he blurted out, "Y-yeah," he admitted, "He's in the same dormitory room as me, we were talking last night. He's not bad."

Just as Rose was about to reply, Scorpius came through the door, motioning at Albus to come and sit with him. Al looked at her apologetically, gathered everything and went over to Scorpius.

Rose watched them with slitted eyes, until the professor called everyone to order. They were instructed to turn a match into a needle. Five minutes into class, McGonagall nodded approvingly at Rose's needle.

"Look here, everyone, Ms. Weasley has completed the task. Anyone else?"

Scorpius slowly raised his hand. Rose looked at him in surprise, gritting her teeth, as he looked right back at her with a slight smirk. It looked like she had found her true rival in Scorpius Malfoy.


	5. Chapter 5 Turn Of Events

The first week of school had gone by, and Scorpius and Rose had developed a mutual hatred towards each other. They competed in each and every class, Scorpius almost "beating" her in Potions, Rose, the same, in Defense Against the Dark Arts. It seemed as if this had become an obsession for them both, one upping the other. Albus watched all of this with regret and confusion.

"Come on, Rose," Albus said, grimacing at her during lunch, "Stop with all this rubbish."  
Rose hardly glanced at him, as she did her Potions homework, writing feverishly, though the essay was due in a week, "Tell HIM to stop. He's the one trying to beat me. It's obvious I'm better."

Albus groaned, and almost replied, but Rose cut him off, grabbing his essay and stuffing it in her bag.  
"Well, I'm off to train on the Quidditch Pitch. Tell that duffer that I already finished my Potions essay," with that, she stomped off.

Albus shook his head and sighed, muttering under his breath, "Scorpius finished yesterday."

Rose walked into the empty Quidditch pitch, her Firebolt 1000 in her hand, a present from Uncle Harry.  
She was about to mount until she saw a figure with pale blonde hair sauntering into the pitch from the opposite entrance.  
She ran over to him, glaring daggers, "Hey, Malfoy," she snapped, "I was here first."

Scorpius rolled his eyes at her, picking a speck of dust off his pristine broom, "Yeah? Prove it," he sneered.

Rose's eyes wandered over to his broom, jealousy matching her irritation. Scorpius saw her gaze and smirked, "This?" he pointed to his broom, "It's the Firebolt 2000, prototype. Father got it for me. None are even on the market yet."

She grit her teeth, and her hand twitched for her wand. He made her so mad! Scorpius saw where her hand was going and he shot her a "go on, I dare you" look.

She sighed and tried to smirk at him, "Well, let's see if you can put your money where your mouth is, Malfoy," she said, mounting her broom, and grabbing the snitch she found in the changing rooms.

Scorpius's eyes hardened, mounting his broom as well. She stopping gripping the little golden ball, and it zoomed off. She nodded to him, and they shot in the direction of the snitch.

She looped, and dived as he looked around carefully for it, his grey eyes observing the field. Finally, he spotted, as she followed. They flew off, Malfoy gaining a little edge because of his broom, but Rose urged her's faster. She was just... one more inch! She leaned to grab it, just as he did. She moved his arm away, but made the mistake of leaning too much on the other end of the broom. It suddenly tipped over, and she grabbed the handle, barely holding on. Scorpius snatched the snitch from the air and grinned, not seeing Rose slowly slipping off her broom. She let out a string of shrill screams, which made him finally see what was happening.

He stretched out his hand immediately. She stubbornly shook her head, still losing balance.  
"I-I can get up by myself!" she called out.

Scorpius's eyes widened and he screamed back, "This isn't the time for this, Weasley! Just grab my damn hand!"  
Rose let out another scream as two of her fingers slid off the broom. She glanced at Scorpius once more, whose eyes were wide with fright.

"Grab it!" he yelled. She finally nodded, and took his hand, as he eased her onto his broom. The flew to the ground, where she got off, shaking slightly.

"W-We never speak of t-this...ok?" she mumbled, looking at him in the eyes.  
Scorpius nodded solemnly, and said hesitantly, "Are you ok? Do you need to go to the Hospital wing or something?"

Rose shook her head, and turned in the opposite direction. Before she exited, the pitch, she muttered, "Thanks."  
Scorpius nodded uncertainly and headed the other way.


End file.
